Russian food self-sufficiency 2019-2020, by product category

Grains were the agricultural product in Russia whose production volume was marked far beyond national sufficiency levels over the observed period. As for the remaining listed categories, the country accounted for nearly absolute self-sufficiency for each, except for fruit and berries. National production of the latter was only sufficient for about 42 percent of the total demand in Russia in 2020.

Russian agricultural sector

The Russian agricultural sector boosted after the imposition of the import embargo on certain agricultural products from Europe as part of the 2014 sanctions. The GVA generated by the sector has been on the rise accordingly over the past years. In 2019 nonetheless, industry experts expressed concerns regarding the state of the agro-industrial complex in the country compared to the prognoses of the previous years. Despite the slightly negative industry indicators, the number of subsidies in the agricultural sector was estimated to peak in the years to follow.

Organic farming in Russia

Along with the globally increased demand for organic products, interest in organically grown food rose in Russia too. Even though at present most of the organic products on the market come from abroad, domestic organic production has been increasing annually. Between 2009 and 2018, the area of organic farmland has grown by nearly seven times, though the yearly growth rate slowed down in recent years. Cereals and oilseeds occupied much of the organic agricultural land in Russia.